Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Plus!!! HOLY $#!%

[JoshHPMusic]

OMGOMGOMG. Ok, sorry for all my excitement, but this is a step forward! Check the demo on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ieOu3S6tnw#t=365

The part I really care about is this whole "cards" thing. Wow! That would be a dream to have a simple way to change the way your controls work. If this becomes somehow separately available for purchase, besides in the guitar itself, they can have my money! This is so awesome!

What do y'all think?

 

[JoshHPMusic]

http://www.fender.com/series/american-deluxe/american-deluxe-strat-plus-maple-fingerboard-mystic-3-color-sunburst/

 

[line6man]

Looks really silly to me, and I doubt it would catch on. There are better and more dignified ways to do switching schemes, and modular systems.  :dontknow:

 

[Tony Ounsworth]

I don't think it's silly at all, and from the front you wouldn't even see it, but it's certainly something that I doubt I would use. But then I don't use tone controls anyway. The only mod I can think of ever needing would be the classic Bridge pickup tone control mod, but once that's done, it's done.

The solder-less pickups though are very appealing, and at least Fender seem to be waking up to things like Compound Radii.

 

[Great Ape]

NOT cool...

 

[Ribeye]

Strictly a matter of personal preference.  Surely, many will embrace the integration of modern technology into their music-- cards, apps, software, etc... My preference is traditional-- a guitar with a cord plugged into a tube amp.

 

[guitartom]

I think it is kinda cool.  Lets you experiment with the different mods without having to re-solder and pull the pickguard.  I do think the card idea is a little cheesy. They seem to want to continue to milk money from folks from the same guitar.  It would have been better to do something like the tone-shaper where the panel would give you access to the dip switches to allow you to change the settings without cards. 

 

[Neo Fender]

Research & Development, Product Development, etc. must be a challenge at Fender & Gibson – having to find new ways to reinvent 60 year old designs to a market that is technically conservative by contrast (regarding guitars) can’t be the easiest job.

Fender’s USA Strat line peaked in the late ‘90s with the, Plus, Deluxe, Big Apple, Texas (or Tex-Mex – whatever the hell it was) models.  I’d never own a signature model and just about everything else they now have to offer no longer hold my attent…  hey a butterfly!

 

[OperatorAce]

I think it's an interesting concept, however, I give this product 3 years before it is cancelled and abandoned.

 

[JoshHPMusic]

They did mention that the "personality cards" system is NOT digital. So this may appeal a bit more to some of you vintage purists/snobs.
I'm sure there are other ways to change the way your tone knobs work, but this is just such a well put-together solution, and seems like it would just feel really nice to pop a card in your guitar and have it work differently.

As for the solderless pickup switching, I think its a good idea, that's not exactly new, but nobody, not even Fender, has come up with a good, universal way to change pickups without soldering. This whole thing will work only with Fender-made pickups. But who's to say companies like Seymour Duncan won't start producing pickups for this thing? Fender's a big company! We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Ribeye]

Snobs?

 

[stratamania]

If you haven't heard of it Musicmans Gamechanger is an interesting system.

The new Fender thing what happens if the card drops out ? 

 

[JoshHPMusic]

Ribeye,
I just meant that there are a lot of guitarists out there who are very stubborn as to the gear they will use, and that often means they think that only vintage stuff is good at all. IMO, I just think this tends to be a snobby attitude, as these people often believe that their old, vintage gear is automatically better than anything new or non-vintage. Particularly, these people happen to really like vintage instruments, and won't use anything besides tube amps. I, personally, think this is a very deprived way of life, believing that only the past is good, and there is no hope, value, or quality in modern and new technology. It is a way that prevents innovation, change, and improvement, and is probably the main reason that guitars are so much the same as they were 60 years ago.

By no means am I saying that YOU are a snob or anything, I was just commenting on the fact that you prefer a standard guitar plugged into a tube amp, and relating that to the many people out there who have similar interests, except to an extreme. Not accusing you of anything.

I just think the guitar industry needs to have some sort of really good innovation that will change things forever, and I feel like it's just near the horizon. Not there yet, but people are realizing that this industry needs to be updated.

 

[Jet-Jaguar]

It would have been better to do something like the tone-shaper where the panel would give you access to the dip switches to allow you to change the settings without cards.

I think it depends on how they're doing it.  If the cards contain different types of tone capacitors, (and not just tone capacitors of different values) then it's doing something that the dip switches wouldn't be able to do.

Also, you don't have to unscrew the pickguard, or get the pickguard past the strings (whenever I do it, I have trouble with that.)  It's waaaaaaay faster with this method. Granted, I don't know how well it works when that little door has been opened for the hundredth time, but still.

 

[OperatorAce]

I for one welcome anything that moves more people to new tech.

Means more great sounding tube amps for me for cheaper!

 

[line6man]

I think it depends on how they're doing it.  If the cards contain different types of tone capacitors, (and not just tone capacitors of different values) then it's doing something that the dip switches wouldn't be able to do.

Who says you can't do that with DIP switches? It very well can be done.

 

[Great Ape]

I just want to clarify that when I commented ''NOT cool'' I was speaking strictly from my own perspective. Clearly we're back in the realm of the subjective here, and all that matters is what turns each of us on individually. Whatever 'works' for any guitar player I wholeheartedly encourage!! I happen to prefer analog and tubes--I like the tone, and it suits the music I play--well, SO WHAT?! I just didn't want my comment to sound like a blanket judgement of the technology or especially of Josh. If it 'sounds' ( :icon_biggrin good to you, go for it, and I hope it turns out to be all you ever wanted in your musical gumbo!!  :icon_thumright:

 

[guitartom]

It would have been better to do something like the tone-shaper where the panel would give you access to the dip switches to allow you to change the settings without cards.

I think it depends on how they're doing it.  If the cards contain different types of tone capacitors, (and not just tone capacitors of different values) then it's doing something that the dip switches wouldn't be able to do.

Also, you don't have to unscrew the pickguard, or get the pickguard past the strings (whenever I do it, I have trouble with that.)  It's waaaaaaay faster with this method. Granted, I don't know how well it works when that little door has been opened for the hundredth time, but still.

I think the tone-shaper can give you different cap values by adjusting the dip switches.  The back access panel saves you from having to pop off the pickguard.

I do agree that the technology in general is a good idea.

 

[mark1178]

Isn't this how Skynet goes to crap?

 

[Ddbltrbl]

I like the idea of solderless connectors for the pickups, IF they are done right. But, the comments about replacing them with "other pickups Fender sells" sounds proprietary to me and leads me to believe it will be something like this:

If so, it really starts to complicate any modifications.  :sad1:

If you were going to do this, why not just build all 3 cards / circuits into the guitar and then make them selectable on the front? :dontknow: